A lot of people complain about workplaces being less fun and relaxed these days. So how would you feel if your boss decided to mix things up by bringing out a copy of “Monopoly”? Is that cool, or horrifying?
In Japan, a fire department sergeant in his 40s was suspended last week for forcing his coworkers to play board games, during work hours.
Even stranger: It wasn’t “Catan”, “Ticket to Ride”, or “Scrabble”, these were “self-made” board games. (So he wanted them to play-test the games for his future as a board game designer?)
There were over 10 types of board games, all originals, and created on blank pieces of paper. One staffer estimated that they played around 14 times, totaling 35 hours. There was no betting involved or anything like that.
Nine workers who played were also given written warnings, but weren’t suspended. Not everyone was into it, in fact, the whole thing was stopped when someone snitched, and reported it to the higher ups. The boss said he thought it would be good for “communication,” but now he “deeply regrets it.”
